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Facebook already has a range of gender options for those who don't fit neatly into male/female categories, but it just took that accommodation one step further. Much like Google, Facebook now lets you specify any gender you want -- you're not limited to the social network's definitions. As before, you can choose who sees that sexuality in case some of your visitors are less tolerant than others. The move won't please those upset with Facebook's real name policy, which sometimes makes people use names that are out of sync with their sexual identities, but it's at least a step in the right direction.

Well, here's a nice Facebook feature for the more fun-loving users: the social network now lets you add stickers to photos before you even post them from an iPhone or an Android device. The social network launched a separate sticker app in December, but that one's only for pictures to be sent through Messenger. Also, its built-in stickers were only for use in private messages and the comments section, prompting anyone who wanted cute accoutrements in their pictures to turn to third-party apps. Now, you'll see a small icon at the bottom of each uploaded image, which you can click to see all the stickers you can use. These graphics can be resized, rotated, moved to another location -- or just straight up deleted if you change your mind. Sure, go on and roll your eyes at the news, but we promise you teens and tweens will eat this up: cue the rise of super-kawaii, sticker-ridden Facebook selfies.

Twitter thrives on celebrities with legions of followers, and it just took a big step toward making a pile of money from those big names. The company has bought Niche, an agency that links social media stars like Zach King (above) to advertisers who want to capitalize on their popularity. Twitter isn't being specific about its plans, but it's not hard to figure out what comes next -- the service now has an easier way to get your favorite Twitter and Vine celebs into ads, raising the chances that you'll notice promo pieces in your feed. It's hard to tell if this will work, but Twitter may feel that there isn't much choice. It isn't having a great time scoring new users, so it might as well get more ad revenue from the people who are sticking around.

Facebook is clearly extra-serious about its efforts to beat internet sale sites at their own game through groups. As part of an update rolling out over the months ahead, the social network's For Sale Groups will let you tap a simple Sell button to hawk your wares -- from there, you'll just have to write a description and set basic details like the pick-up location and price. You'll also have an easy way to mark items as sold, or to sift through your history if you don't remember whether or not you sold that table lamp. Are these enough to make you ditch Craigslist? Not necessarily, but you'll at least have more reasons to stick with Facebook's For Sale Groups if you're an early user.

Twitter might not have the easiest time getting new users, but it's having no problems attracting nosy governments. The social service just published its transparency report for the back half of 2014, and there was a gigantic 40 percent spike in data requests led by just a handful of countries. While the surveillance-happy US certainly contributed to that figure with a 29 percent increase, the biggest culprits were countries that overtly clamp down on freedom of expression. Russia went from making no account info requests at all to more than 100, while Turkey's interest shot up 150 percent. And Turkey is undoubtedly a fan of censorship. While Russia's attempts to quash political opposition helped fuel 91 takedown requests, Turkey asked for a whopping 477 takedowns -- not surprising given its attempts to demonize social networks that allow easy criticism of political leaders.

Remember those murmurs that Google would detach its photo service from its social networking? It just took steps that could make this split a practical reality. The search firm has snapped up the creators of Odysee, a mobile app that can automatically share photos in private as well as send your phone snapshots to your PC at home. The team (Nimbuz) isn't specific about its future plans beyond promises of more "amazing products," but it's joining the Google+ group. That's an unusual move for a developer that specializes in keeping pictures out of the public eye, but it'd make sense if Google wants a photo platform that can stand on its own two feet. Whatever Google's intentions, it's acting quickly. Odysee has already vanished from app stores, and the service shuts down on February 23rd.

The Chinese government has long been pushing people to use their real names online. However, it's now ready to make that an absolute requirement. Starting March 1st, residents will have to register internet accounts (including on blogs, chat services and social networks) using their real names. They won't have to display a real name, but they can't create a completely anonymous ID. It'll also be illegal to impersonate other people or organizations, and neither your avatar nor your nickname can include illegal content -- including something that "subverts state power" or promotes "rumormongering."

Bad news if you were hoping to swap Reddit Notes with friends: the internet community just put its don't-call-it-a-currency project on ice. As Reddit's Alexis Ohanian argues, the company doesn't want to dive into cryptocurrency (even when it doesn't have conventional monetary worth) until both the legal and technical aspects are "further along." He wants to make sure that users get the "full value" of their equity, and that's reportedly not possible right now. It's not clear that this is the only motivation, mind you. Notes was started under Reddit's previous CEO, so it may be as much about a change in leadership philosophy as anything else. Whatever the cause, you'll have to make do with handing out Reddit Gold if you want to reward your fellow redditors without relying on third-party services.

France is eying new laws that would make the likes of Facebook and Google accountable for hosting extremist messages. As Bloomberg tells it, the new talk is a direct response to terrorist attacks from earlier this month, and should the draft law pass, it'd make online entities "accomplices" for hosting hate speech or terrorism sites. French president François Hollande addressed the sharp increase in terrorist recruitment over the internet, saying:

"We must act at the European and international level to define a legal framework so that Internet platforms which manage social media be considered responsible and that sanctions can be taken."

In December 2014, Instagram overtook Twitter's monthly active user number. Well, someone from Twitter must have found that alarming, because the microblogging website is now urging its most prolific users not to tweet out links to Instagram photos. In a screenshot obtained by Mashable (embedded below the fold), you'll see the splash page the company's showing its power users, asking them to post their pictures directly on the website. A source confirmed to the publication that Twitter unleashed the prompt to a number of notable entertainment, media and sports accounts, in part to remind them that the website does have native photo editing tools and to show them how those work.

When Christopher Poole founded messaging board 4chan 11 and a half years ago, he was just a 15-year-old kid. Now, he's stepping down an adult with a Ph.D. (in large-scale community management, which fits him well) and more than a decade of experience running (by himself!) one of the most notorious online destinations. Poole is more widely known as "Moot," the pseudonym he uses around the internet, even to post updates about 4chan's current state of affairs, the most recent of which is his resignation. Over the years, we've seen him talk about many, many things, more than once discussing 4chan's financial woes. See, despite the website's size, it doesn't have backers and major advertisers: It relies mostly on banner ads with occasional donation drives during especially lean times.

Just can't wait to snag some tickets for a big concert, but don't want to wade through the band's site (or the ticket shop's page) to make sure you get a good seat? You won't have to after today. Google has forged deals with AXS, Ticketfly and Ticketmaster that link you directly to tickets when you search for a specific venue on the web or in Google Maps. If you search for a band, you'll also get tour schedules.

Twitter is determined to put its frameworks into as many of your apps as it can, and it's going to great lengths (in some cases, literally) to make sure that happens. The social network has unveiled Flock, a worldwide tour that will show developers how to put tweets into their apps through Twitter's Fabric programming kits. The campaign will start in Los Angeles on January 21st, but it'll eventually spread to other US cities and major international hubs like Bangalore, London, São Paulo and Tokyo. If you're curious enough to attend, you'll get to talk to Twitter engineers and developer evangelists that might just solve your problems with everything from ads to Digits sign-ins.

Twitter isn't growing as quickly as it used to, so it can't just count on a horde of new social networkers to pump up its bank account. What's it going to do, then? Sell ads elsewhere, apparently. Sources for the Wall Street Journalclaim that Twitter is planning to offer ads for the tweet feeds you see in other companies' apps and websites, sharing the money it makes with its partners. It's not certain who's onboard with the idea. Twitter reportedly cited both ESPN and Flipboard as examples during a presentation at CES, but a WSJ tipster says that there's no official deal with ESPN just yet.

Team Engadget spent a long week running around Las Vegas during CES, whether it's the the many exhibits at the city's Convention Center, the umpteen meetings at hotels or all-important pitstops like the Peppermill. Want to get a glimpse of what it was like? Follow the journey of our editorial team (and its dear friends) through social media in the gallery below. %Gallery-slideshow257051%

President Barack Obama is previewing parts of his State of the Union address in a bid to drum up support ahead of the big speech, and his latest effort is breaking some ground -- both in the policy and how he's presenting it. The head of state took to Facebook, Twitter and Vine to unveil a proposal that would give Americans two free years of community college so long as they maintain good grades and graduate. It's a rare move for discussing politics online. While the president regularly makes announcements on social networks, it's not often that you get a peek at the State of the Union while you're catching up on friends' status updates and looping cat videos.

Twitter has just won an Emmy award. Yup, you read that right: the microblogging site has scored itself an atom-toting statuette, though nobody's dressing up in a blue bird costume and walking down the red carpet to accept it (probably). What the company won is a technology and engineering Emmy for -- this is quite a mouthful -- Innovation in Improving Engagement Around Television in Social media. Tech Emmy committee chairman Robert P. Seidel says they're recognizing "companies and individuals whose innovation and vision have materially affected the way the audience views television and have set the standard for technological excellence in the industry."

Facebook is clearly eager to check out new interface concepts these days. Just months after its acquisition of Oculus VR wrapped up, it's buying a speech recognition company, Wit.ai. The social network isn't saying just what it plans to do with its new purchase, but Wit.ai's focus has been on a platform for voice-guided natural language interfaces. It's not a stretch to see Facebook giving you ways to dictate your status updates or chats. Also, voice recognition is particularly important for virtual reality, where you can't always reach for a keyboard -- this may play an important role in Oculus' immersive experiences going forward.

Facebook inadvertently opened a lot of old wounds with its automated "Year in Review" slideshow feature. While it was meant to highlight people's favorite moments, it also reminded many of deaths, divorces and other tragedies that they tried to leave in the past. The company is clearly ready to own up to its mistake, though. Product manager Jonathan Gheller has apologized to Eric Meyer (whose story about his daughter's death drew attention to the problem) for the insensitivity and declared that the "Year in Review" team "can do better" in the future. While it's not clear what those changes will involve, The Guardiannotes that Facebook has already changed the ending of the slideshow from "it's been a great year" to "see you next year" to avoid making presumptions.

Snapchat warned that it was clamping down on third-party apps to prevent sketchier examples from compromising your security, and it appears to be making good on its word -- much to the chagrin of Windows Phone users, who haven't had an official Snapchat option so far. Windows Centralnotes that 6snap and other titles that replicated the disappearing message service have abruptly vanished from the Windows Phone Store. Moreover, some users say that Snapchat is following through on warnings that it would permanently lock the accounts of those who kept using unofficial software. If you're in that boat, you now have to start fresh if you want to chat with friends.

Many would argue that cops cross the line when they impersonate people on social networks to catch suspects, but that doesn't mean that fake accounts are always off the table. In a recent opinion, New Jersey district judge William Martini contends that police don't need search warrants to create bogus Instagram accounts for the sake of seeing a suspect's photos. As Martini explains, it's "consensual sharing" -- the perpetrator is both making these pictures public and willingly providing access to others. That's bad news for Daniel Gatson, an alleged burglar who insisted that law enforcement needed probable cause (that is, reasonable belief that there's evidence of a crime) to peek at an Instagram feed laden with shots of cash and jewelery.

Instagram has made good on its promise to start purging inactive, fake and spam accounts this December, and it's doing such a great job that users are calling it "Instagram Rapture" or "Instapurge." Celebrities ended up losing a big chunk of their followers, like Justin Bieber whose Belieber count went down by 3.5 million, according to the list created by software developer Zach Allia. Ariana Grande's numbers are also down by 1.5 million, while Kim Kardashian lost 1.3 million fake minions. Someone named chiragchirag78 even went from boasting 4 million fans to have only eight left -- poor user was so devastated, he ended up deleting his account. But it's still Instagram itself that's suffered the worst blow, shedding almost 19 million followers in the process.

Facebook recently updated its Graph Search tool to make it easier to find friends' old posts. According to Reuters, though, the company failed to announced another change: it has apparently stopped showing Bing results, as well. The social network launched Graph Search in 2013, giving people a quick way to scour the website for posts, pages and users. It could also be used like a typical search engine (thanks to Bing), so you could, theoretically, research for a school paper without leaving the website. Both companies have confirmed the change to VentureBeat, even saying that it was implemented a while ago.

When there's a big event happening while you're away from home, what apps do you use to keep track on your phone? Probably not Facebook -- it's often the last service to show you up-to-the-minute info. That might change after today. Facebook has started rolling out its Trending feature on mobile, along with a few upgrades that make it easier to see what others are saying about a hot topic. You can follow a Twitter-like live feed if you want to see reactions as they trickle in, but you can also limit your reading to people nearby, those who were directly involved, news articles or your friends.

The past year was a blur if you're a social networking maven, but don't worry -- both Facebook and Twitter are offering retrospectives that will help you remember how 2014 went down. Despite the differences between the two services, people on either were buzzing about many of the same things. Protests defined the year for many, whether it was about police violence in the US or the fight for democracy in Hong Kong. Sports played a big role, too, with the World Cup and the winter Olympics often dominating the conversation.